Latest news with #ExxonMobil
The Guardian
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Chevron closes $55bn Hess takeover after winning Exxon legal battle
Chevron closed its $55bn acquisition of Hess on Friday after winning a landmark legal battle against its larger rival Exxon Mobil to gain access to the largest oil discovery in decades. The strategy of Chevron's CEO, Mike Wirth, to turn around his company's lagging performance hinged on the acquisition, one of the largest energy deals in the past decade. The prize is a stake in the prolific Stabroek Block off the coast of Guyana that holds more than 11bn barrels of oil and is one of the fastest-growing oil provinces in the world. 'This merger of two great American companies brings together the best in the industry,' Wirth said in a statement. Exxon and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Hess's partners in Guyana, had filed arbitration disputes that claimed they held a pre-emptive right to purchase Hess's stake, which delayed Chevron's closure of the Hess acquisition for over a year. 'We disagree with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) panel's interpretation but respect the arbitration and dispute resolution process,' Exxon said in a statement. 'Given the significant value we've created in the development of the Guyana resource, we believed we had a clear duty to our investors to consider our pre-emption rights to protect the value we created through our innovation and hard work at a time when no one knew just how successful this venture would become,' the company added. CNOOC said it was also disappointed with the ruling. There is no appeals process at the International Chamber of Commerce, the court that oversaw the arbitration case. Even as it awaited the arbitration verdict, Chevron was making preparations so it could close the deal with Hess quickly, Reuters previously reported. Information technology workers from Chevron and Hess have met regularly to plan the integration, and Hess employees were informed that they could request a severance package following the deal's close. In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Wirth said converting technology and combining employees from both companies would take a few months. Shares of Chevron and Exxon were marginally lower in morning trading.
Wall Street Journal
20 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Chevron's Victory in the Oil-Patch Brawl Was a Much-Needed Win
Chevron's CVX -0.89%decrease; red down pointing triangle victory in its high-stakes clash with Exxon Mobil XOM -3.48%decrease; red down pointing triangle secured its entry into one of the world's most coveted oil projects. It badly needed the win. A trio of international arbitrators on Friday allowed Chevron to clinch its $53 billion deal to buy Hess, rejecting a contractual challenge from Exxon over bidding rights to Hess's slice of a generational oil project in Guyana, in South America. Chevron quickly closed the deal and said it planned to nominate oil veteran John Hess to its board.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chevron's $53 billion Hess acquisition cleared after arbitration ruling
-- Chevron (NYSE:CVX)'s $53 billion acquisition of Hess Corp (NYSE:HES). can now proceed after an arbitration panel ruled in favor of Hess in its dispute with Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM). The International Chamber of Commerce oversaw the arbitration, which centered on Exxon's claim that it had a right of first refusal to purchase Hess's stake in the Stabroek block in Guyana, where Exxon also holds a stake. Hess and Chevron successfully argued that the right of first refusal clause did not apply to the sale of Hess's entire company. The decision represents a significant victory for Chevron, ending a period of strategic uncertainty that negatively impacted its stock price and raised questions about the company's due diligence when it agreed to acquire Hess in October 2023. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth had previously stated he would abandon the acquisition if Hess and Chevron lost the arbitration case. The deal was first announced over 20 months ago. Related articles Chevron's $53 billion Hess acquisition cleared after arbitration ruling Victoria's Secret Exposed: The Warning Sign Behind the Stock's 52% Collapse These Under-the-Radar Stocks Offer Better Risk-Reward Ratio Than Nvidia
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scott Sheffield Bashes Exxon Mobil After FTC Clears Him
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revoked a 2024 decision prohibiting former Pioneer Natural Resources CEO Scott Sheffield from holding an Exxon Mobil position. But after winning the clearance, Sheffield told Hart Energy that 'as for the possibility of joining Exxon's board now, because of actions they have taken in this matter I am no longer interested. 'Exxon signed a rushed, baseless and illegal order barring me and other Pioneer employees from taking an Exxon board seat. In doing so, they effectively broke the commitment they made to me in their merger agreement with Pioneer, the company I founded and led for over 40 years.' Sheffield led Pioneer's merger with Exxon Mobil in 2024 in a $64.5 billion stock and debt assumption deal. 'That seat had been unanimously approved by Pioneer shareholders, based on the value I was prepared to bring to Exxon and its shareholders—not least as someone with 50 years of strategic and operational experience in the U.S. shale industry, experience that Exxon's board currently lacks,' he told Hart Energy. 'For now, I remain one of Exxon's largest individual shareholders and as such will consider other options.' The FTC, chaired at the time of the Pioneer-Exxon Mobil decision by a President Biden nominee, Lina Khan, had voted 3-2 that the merger could go forward if Sheffield holds no position—including in an advisory capacity—in the merged company and no other Pioneer employee hold an Exxon Mobil board seat for at least five years. Khan alleged Sheffield had asked OPEC members to withdraw oil from the market to improve prices. The FTC voted 3-0 July 17 to reopen and set aside the 2024 decision. The FTC consists currently of only three members, all Republican. Sheffield said, 'I appreciate the current commissioners for their willingness to review this case, and I'm obviously pleased that common sense has carried the day in their decision to vacate the prior order. 'Aside from its impact on me personally, the FTC's initial decision, based on an utterly unfounded smear campaign, had a chilling effect on free speech and important policy debates across this critical industry. 'It was important to reverse it.' Sheffield has a lawsuit outstanding against Khan individually in a federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, over the matter. The proceedings there had been on pause awaiting the FTC's decision on whether to revoke the 2024 decision. The FTC reported that, in considering whether to reopen the case, the more than 3,000 public comments didn't find any antitrust violation and didn't allege the Pioneer-Exxon Mobil deal would result in an anticompetitive market. The FTC had asked for public comments this spring on whether to reopen the case. A few comments were submitted online, some in favor and some against. As the deadline approached, though, more than 100 more comments, all against, were submitted online after Khan posted on X about the case, calling for followers to file a comment as the '@FTC is now trying to let this oil exec off the hook.' The FTC reported July 17, 'In light of the complaint's deficiencies, the FTC concluded that maintaining the restrictions on Mr. Sheffield's employment would damage the FTC's credibility and undermine its mission. Vacating the final order is therefore in the public interest.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Chevron wins huge legal fight against Exxon to close $53 billion Hess acquisition—getting access to the biggest oil discovery of the century
Chevron won its hotly contested legal battle against rival Exxon Mobil, allowing it to immediately close its $53 billion acquisition of Hess on July 18 and give the Big Oil major access to arguably the biggest oil discovery of the century offshore of sparsely populated Guyana. The long-awaited ruling from an arbitration panel overseen by the International Chamber of Commerce is a massive victory for Chevron and its CEO Mike Wirth who bet big on acquiring New York-based Hess despite the legal risks. Shares of Chevron jumped more than 5% in pre-market trading as the energy giant gained access to more than 11 billion barrels of discoverable oil equivalent in what's called the Stabroek Block and its 6.6 million acres offshore of Guyana in South America. Hess shares spiked about 11%. 'This merger of two great American companies brings together the best in the industry,' Wirth said in a statement. 'The combination enhances and extends our growth profile well into the next decade, which we believe will drive greater long-term value to shareholders.' Former Hess CEO John Hess also will join the Chevron board after a previous block was lifted July 17 by the Federal Trade Commission. Chevron announced its planned all-stock acquisition of Hess in October 2023 with the goal of closing the deal no later than June 2024. In mid-2024, Chevron announced that scheduling challenges meant that the arbitration panel would not hear the case until May 2025, keeping the deal in limbo for a substantial period of time and making investors wary it would ever come to fruition. Exxon, which made the Guyana discovery 10 years ago and operates the exploration and production there, had argued it had the right of first refusal for Hess' ownership of the Guyana stake. Chevron and Hess contended that right of refusal did not apply to the sale of the entire deal will make Exxon and Chevron partners in Guyana despite the rivalry and legal fight. Exxon said it in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling but respects the end result. 'Given the significant value we've created in the development of the Guyana resource, we believed we had a clear duty to our investors to consider our preemption rights to protect the value we created through our innovation and hard work at a time when no one knew just how successful this venture would become,' Exxon stated. 'We welcome Chevron to the venture and look forward to continued industry-leading performance and value creation in Guyana for all parties involved,' Exxon added. What Chevron wins Exxon will continue to lead the Guyana partnership with its 45% ownership stake, and Chevron will join as a 30% owner. China's CNOOC holds the remaining 25%. RBC Capital analyst Biraj Borkhataria said many investors were sitting on the sidelines, awaiting the arbitration results, and that Chevron is now set to benefit. He said the industry can now move on beyond the 'soap opera' and expect Chevron shares to outperform in the coming weeks. He said the focus will eventually shift to Chevron's free cash flow growth that comes from the deal going into 2026 and beyond. The merger adds nearly 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily to Chevron's portfolio, lifting its overall volumes from 3.35 million barrels a day to about 3.83 million barrels daily, based on their results from the first quarter. The compares to Big Oil leader Exxon and its 4.55 million barrels of oil equivalent a the Guyana stake is considered the crown jewel of the Hess deal, it's only one of the big parts of what Chevron acquires from Hess. The biggest source of oil and gas volumes for Hess is actually the maturing Bakken Shale in North Dakota. Hess holds 465,000 net acres of in the Bakken. Chevron also acquires Hess' assets in the Gulf of Mexico and its Southeast Asia natural gas is yet to be seen what, if any, Hess assets Chevron may seek to divest. Chevron already has large positions in both the U.S. Gulf and Asia. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
